Isaiah 26-28

Isaiah 26

Isaiah 26 continues the song that began in chapter 25

God’s people sing about a strong city

• Its strength is not in walls or armies, but God Himself
• The proud city (human power) is brought low
• City of God vs City of Man

Trust Versus Blindness

• The righteous walk straight paths and are just
• The wicked do not notice God’s works

Verses 12-16: Peace comes from God 

Hope Beyond Death

• God’s people cry out in distress
• Human effort alone cannot bring deliverance
• God promises resurrection imagery:
  • The dead will live
  • The earth will give birth
• This is a hint at resurrection

God calls His people to hide briefly

• Judgment passes over

Isaiah 27

God destroys Leviathan/ chaos 

 God’s Vineyard, Restored

• Unlike Isaiah 5’s failed vineyard, this one is protected
• God tends it carefully
• It flourishes and fills the world with fruit

Mercy

• Israel is spared unlike other nations
• Idolatry is removed
• God covers their sins

The ‘city of man’ will become desolate 

Regathering the Scattered

• God gathers His people one by one
• Exiles return from Assyria and Egypt
• Worship is restored in Jerusalem

Isaiah 28

Focus shifts sharply back to present reality. Both Israel (Ephraim) and Judah are addressed

• Leaders are complacent and corrupt

Ephraim

• Ephraim is compared to a fading crown
• They are ‘drunkards’
• Assyria will crush them

A Remnant Remains

• God becomes a crown for the faithful
• Justice and strength are restored to some

Judah

• Priests and prophets are drunk
• They mock Isaiah’s message as childish
• God will respond by speaking through foreign tongues

False Confidence 

• Leaders claim a “covenant with death”
  • They believe disaster won’t touch them
• God declares their agreement void

The Cornerstone

• God lays a tested, precious stone for a foundation
• Those who trust it will not panic
• Later applied to the Messiah in the New Testament (1 Peter 2:6)

Isaiah again warns the leaders not to mock God as justice acts like a flood. 

God’s timing

• Farming imagery explains God’s methods
  • Different tools used for different purposes
• God’s discipline is intentional and wise

Application

• Isaiah 26 shows us that God’s trust brings peace and hope, even beyond death
• Isaiah 27: God disciplines, restores, and regathers His people
• Isaiah 28: Prideful leaders are warned that they will fail